MILLTOWN – The second-ranked Appoquinimink Jaguars edged No. 1 St. Mark’s, 2-1, on April 10 for their third straight win over the Spartans in the last three years. Jags senior starter Ryan Steckline outdueled Spartans senior Billy Sullivan in a pitchers’ duel.

(The Dialog/Jason Winchell)

The Jags scored a pair of runs in the third, the first on a throwing error. Then Steckline singled home a run to give the Jags a 2-0 lead. The Spartans got a run back in the bottom of the third when catcher Matthew Sinko doubled home Matthew Theodorakis to cut the Jags lead to 2-1.

The Spartans loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth on three walks. Steckline helped himself by starting a double play. He took a ground ball and threw home, and the relay to first beat the runner for a huge double play.

Steckline threw 5 2/3 innings, striking out nine while scattering 6 hits. Reliever Emir Garret retired all four batters he faced to pick up the save. Sullivan went the distance for the Spartans, striking out six while only giving up five hits. The Jags (7-0) got two hits from Jarrett Weglarz. They will travel to Tatnall on Thursday for a 3:45 p.m. start. The Spartans (6-1) are at Caravel on Wednesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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WILMINGTON – Senior Ryan Steckline threw five shutout innings, striking out eight as the third-ranked Appoquinimink beat No. 7 Salesianum, 6-0, on March 30. Steckline also had two hits to help his cause while limiting the Sals’ potent offense to three hits. Read more »

NEWARK – St. Thomas More has advanced to the DIAA boys basketball tournament semifinal round for the first time after beating a pesky Appoquinimink team, 48-40, on March 5 at the Bob Carpenter Center. The Ravens, 19-3 and seeded second, raced out to a 13-point halftime lead and withstood a Jags rally to advance, where they will meet No. 19 Caravel on Thursday night. Read more »

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SMYRNA – It was a tale of two halves in the state Division I soccer championship match Nov. 19 at Smyrna High School, and the Salesianum side wrote both stories. On a cold, windy and rainy night in central Delaware, the top-ranked Sals scored a goal with the rain and wind at their backs, then played even better with the elements in their faces on the way to a 2-0 win over Appoquinimink.

The win gave Salesianum its seventh straight state championship, 13th in the past 15 years, and 16th overall. The Sals finished the season with a record of 16-1-1. The only loss came to Boulder (Colo.) in the second game of a two-day trip to Colorado, and the tie was against St. Benedict’s Prep (N.J.), one of the best teams in the country. Read more »

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BRANDYWINE HUNDRED – When Padua’s volleyball team met Appoquinimink on Nov. 5 at Brandywine High School, the third-seeded Pandas were playing their first match in nine days, while the Jaguars had seen action just two days prior. The Pandas survived a rough start to claim a 3-0 victory in the second round of the state volleyball tournament. Set scores were 25-17, 25-9 and 25-17.

Padua coach Lauren DiSabatino said a number of factors could have played a part, including the layoff. Read more »

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MAGNOLIA – St. Thomas More was coming off its best-ever volleyball regular season, having won 12 of its 13 contests and earning an 11th seed and a first-round home match on Nov. 3 at Bishop Saltarelli Gymnasium. But No. 22 Delmar was not impressed, going home with a 3-0 sweep over the Ravens. The set scores were 25-18, 25-21 and 26-24.

Delmar, which earned its tournament berth as champions of the Henlopen South conference, was ready to go from the jump, taking a 9-1 first-set lead after three straight aces by Carly Covington. St. Thomas More responded, closing to within two on two occasions, both on aces. The first, to make the score 16-14 Delmar, came from Sarah Reeves, and the second was served up by Logan Hughes that made it 19-17. Read more »

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BEAR – Garrett Cannon’s football career at Salesianum’s quarterback ended in November with him lying on the grass at Baynard Stadium with a broken leg, a dislocated ankle and tendon damage. He had to watch his teammates play the state championship game from a wheelchair on the sidelines at Delaware Stadium.

He worked his way back to be ready to go for the lacrosse season, and on Saturday night, he scored three times – including No. 1 Salesianum’s opening and closing goals of the contest – to help lead the Sals to a 16-7 win over sixth-seeded Appoquinimink for the state title at Bob Peoples Stadium at Caravel Academy. It was the school’s eighth championship. Read more »

CLAYMONT – No. 12 Archmere, playing as the visiting team on its home field, knocked defending state baseball champion Appoquinimink out of the playoffs with a 7-1 win on May 23.

The game had been scheduled to be played at Hodgson, but it was moved because of weather. The visiting Auks got a run in the first against Jags starter Ryan Steckline. Andrew Orzel worked a walk, and Joe Singley also walked with two outs. Dan Matranga hit a single to score Orzel. Appo, the fifth seed, tied the game in the bottom of the inning as Steckline doubled in Javon Fields. Read more »

CLAYMONT – Archmere hosted Appoquinimink on April 30, and the Auks fell just short of upsetting the state’s fourth-ranked softball team. The Jaguars escaped with a 3-2 win.

The Auks had lost three in a row coming into the game, and Caravel had defeated top-ranked Caravel earlier in the week. Appo struck first as Rachel Durham reached on an error and scored on a two-out hit by Haley Jones in the top of the second. Brooke Miller added a solo home run with two outs in the third to double the lead. Read more »